2019 Clos du Lican
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Tasting notes
The pure Syrah 2019 Clos du Lican is a ripe and heady red with 15.5% alcohol from vines planted between 2004 and 2005 on slopes with granite soils. It fermented with native yeasts and had five to six weeks of maceration in French barriques followed by malolactic and 23 months in brand-new barrels. This is ripe, voluptuous and creamy, with a luxurious texture; it's aromatic and heady, with a mixture of violets, bacon fat, spices, smoke and a lactic touch. It's full-bodied, with abundant, slightly dusty tannins; it's concentrated and powerful, more New World than Rhône. 3,468 bottles were filled in March 2021.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Clos du Licán is 100% Syrah and hails from Apalta, Colchagua; aged 23 months in French new barrels. Purple in the glass. The nose offers notes of fresh and ripe fruit such as plum and sour cherry and a hint of pepper over a bed of undergrowth, country herbs, mild oak and cedar aromas, followed by a whiff of rose petal. Juicy with good volume, this is a relaxed wine with finely grained tannins that channel the flow and keep things lively and light on their feet before the undergrowth flavors return at the finish. Rich and flavorful.
All Syrah that spent 23 months in new barrels, the 2019 Clos Du Lican is a gorgeous effort that brings solid depth and richness, yet it's the purity and finesse, as well as the quality of the tannins, that really set it apart. Revealing a deeper ruby/purple hue as well as lots of blackberry and mulberry fruits, it has perfectly integrated oak, medium to full body, silky tannins, and just a complex, incredibly impressive bouquet of peppery herbs, sandalwood, violets, and baking spices. Despite solid levels of ripeness (the alcohol is over 15%), it has a terrific sense of freshness, and again, the purity and balance are something to behold. This gorgeous Syrah will evolve for 15+ years.
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About the producer
Chile’s Clos Apalta is arguably South America’s most successful estate, garnering praise from the world’s leading wine critics and connoisseurs. The 2005 vintage was named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year – the only South American wine to do so – and the wines continue to impress.